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Abandoned Bee Hive

I have a neighbor that passed away a few year ago. I have recently discovered that he has bees in the woods 1/2 mile behind my house. One of the hives has rotted beyond use and has been abandoned. The other hive is in very poor shape and doesn't look like it would hold up to being moved. It is however an active hive with bees everywhere. Can they be relocated to my garden / orchard area in a new box?

Re: Abandoned Bee Hive

Sure can. Just treat it like a cutout and rubber band the comb to new frames. Or, if the frames inside are still good, simply place into a new box at the same location and then return that evening to screen the entrance and relocate the hive. Be sure to inspect for mites, wax moths and SHB while you're transferring comb so you can handle any issues when they're moved and be less disruptive, vs. doing a full workover once they're moved.

I would also leave the old box there once moved so that any who stray back can be easily retrieved.

Oh yeah, don't forget to check with the next of kin to make sure it's alright. All things considered, it's their hive now.

Re: Abandoned Bee Hive

Sure........after you get them in new equipment. You'll have to block the entrances with some branches or sticks so that they can reorient themselves to their new surroundings when they go to leave & not fly back to the original hive placement. The best bet w/b to put them in new equip, move them around 5 miles for about 5 miles for about a week, then locate them back to your garden/orchard.

Re: Abandoned Bee Hive

Thanks for the info, the family didn't even know they were there. Now,,, they are so deep in the woods you would have to pipe in sunlight. Is this good or should bees in general be placed in the sunlight?

Re: Abandoned Bee Hive

Welcome to Beesource!

> should bees in general be placed in the sunlight?

Since you are in North Carolina, one of the hive issues you get to deal with is small hive beetles. Many beekeepers find that hives in full sun offers some advantage in fighting SHB. Also, hives with an east/south sun exposure generally will "wake up and go to work" earlier in the morning than hives in full shade.

Re: Abandoned Bee Hive

Originally Posted by Chris P.

Thanks for the info, the family didn't even know they were there. Now,,, they are so deep in the woods you would have to pipe in sunlight. Is this good or should bees in general be placed in the sunlight?

The only hives I've lost to SHB were both in full shade. Bees like the heat of full sun and beetles don't.

Re: Abandoned Bee Hive

Put them into new equipment. Then I would recomend moving them at the minumum 2 mile away. I would leave them at the new location at least 30 days to have the older bees die off before bringing them back to your yard.

I have moved nucs that I made up from my home yard, then moved 2 miles away then bring back to the home yard two weeks later only to find that the nucs lost many bees back to their parent hives.